HOUSE AND GARDEN 
68 
April, 
1912 
A 
Sound Living 
Tree has a money as 
well as a sentimental 
value, therefore it is too 
precious to neglect. 
The Davey Tree Experts 
Do 
a class of work accomplished by no other set of 
men—they succeed where others fail. 
If you are the owner of an estate, a country or 
city house with trees, we want you to write for 
our book, which is interesting and valuable to you 
—it tells the fascinating story of John Davey, 
Father of Tree Surgery—what he accomplished^ 
the institute he founded, and how the Davey 
Tree Experts are saving trees and money for 
property owners. 
Don’t let any man touch a tree on your place 
unless he shows you credentials proving him quali-' 
fied to perform the work. 
All graduates from the "Davey Institute of Tree 
Surgery” carry such testimony, and are em¬ 
ployed by the Davey Tree Expert Company— 
WE NEVER LET GOOD MEN GO. 
An early writing for our book is advised, be¬ 
cause "Procrastination is the Thief of Trees” 
Be sure to mention the number of trees 
vou own, and their species. Address, 
THE DAVEY TREE EXPERT 
COMPANY, Inc. 
?25 Filbert St. Kent, O. 
Branch Offices: New York, N. Y., 
Chicago, Ill., Toronto, Can. 
Canadian Address: 630 
Conf. Life Building 
Toronto, Ontario 
Representatives 
Avciilable 
Every¬ 
where 
JOHN DAVEY 
[Faihcr of Tree Surger,y| 
DAVEY TREE 
EXPERT WORK 
OISTHE 
CAPITOL GROUNDS 
WASHINGTON D.C 
The Queen of Hardy Orchids 
Cypripedium reginae (spectabile). 
Kelsey's Hardy American Plants 
and 
Carolina Mountain Flowers 
The most exquisite and lasting material for Landscape, Wild 
or Formal Gardens. 
We have the largest collection of rare Native Plants in ex¬ 
istence. Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Leucothoes, Ferns, Bulbs 
and other specialties for Woods Planting, Borders, Shady 
Spots, Rockeries and Water Gardens. 
These dainty things are easily grown, if. you do it right. A 
beautiful catalog (free) gives expert information. 
HIGHLANDS NURSERY, 
3800 ft. elevation in Caro¬ 
lina Mountains. 
SALEM NURSERIES. 
HARLAN P. KELSEY 
SALEM, MASS. 
A Common Sense Explanation of 
Fertilizers 
(Continued from page 17) 
the son poor.” In spite of this dire proph¬ 
ecy, liming- is an excellent practice -and 
the amateur gardener should lime his 
ground every two or three years, especially 
if it is located in a damp place where there 
is poor drainage. 
The chief purpose of this article is to 
simplify if possible the subject of artificial 
fertilizers, phosphates, bone dust, guano 
and the like. Where we are unable to get 
sufficient manure the use of one of these 
is almost essential to continued success 
with the home vegetable garden. Until 
the laws of most states made it a require¬ 
ment of law for the fertilizer manufac¬ 
turer to print on the bag the formula of 
the particular fertilizer that he was sell¬ 
ing, it left the farmer almost in the dark 
whether he was paying twenty or thirty 
dollars a ton for something that would 
actually make his crops grow or for 
something that had as little fertilizing 
properties as an old shoe. Experiments 
have shown that to obtain a maximum 
yield of various crops, fertilizers should 
be used to meet their especial require¬ 
ments. That is what all the big books 
are written about. The small gardener 
need not concern himself about this, 
however. The kind of fertilizer for you 
to use is the one called “a complete fer¬ 
tilizer.” It is simply a standard general 
fertilizer. A very good mixture contains 
3 per cent, of nitrogen, 8 per cent, of 
phosphoric acid and 12 per cent, of pot¬ 
ash. The quantity to use will depend 
upon how much manure you have used. 
Where practically no manure is available, 
five hundred pounds to the acre is a safe 
quantity. Most home gardens are con¬ 
siderably less than an acre in extent— 
which is 43,560 square feet pr about 207 
feet on a side. It may be calculated that 
500 pounds to the acre is equivalent to 
three pounds to the square rod or about 
an ounce to the square yard. This is not 
an absolute rule, and nothing very serious 
will happen if you use a little more or a 
little less. It is very important to keep any 
kind of fertilizer away from direct con¬ 
tact with the roots of growing plants. 
ATere you do not wish to broadcast a 
fertilizer, but to apply it directly to the 
rows where the plants are to grow, the 
fertilizer should be worked in with a hoe 
around the plant and not be thrown in a 
heap against it. An excellent practice is 
this: after we have made our trenches or 
rows where our seeds are to be sown, 
sow some fertilizer along these rows and 
then drag a chain over it. It will be mixed 
with the soil and will be just where the 
growing plant can get at it when it sends 
out its rootlets. 
My garden consists of about half an 
acre. When I started it, the plot was a 
piece of sod ground that twenty years 
before had been a corn field. When I took 
(Continued on page 70) 
In leriiing to ad: ertisers please mention House and Garden. 
